Physical disturbance and marine benthic communities: life in unconsolidated sediments

This review examines the physical and biological processes which move marine intertidal and subtidal sediments and considers available information on the consequences of physical disturbance for benthic communities. The agents examined include waves and currents, bioturbation, fishing and dredging and the intensities and scales upon which the various processes operate is considered. The inter-relationships between the various disturbance processes are also examined.